The United Kingdom of Great Britain is a German client state in the British Isles. It borders the Republic of Ireland through the Irish Sea to the west, the English Channel to the south, and the North Sea to the east. As a client state (Mitstreiter) of Germany, Britain is a member of the Einheitspakt.
The country operates under a German collaborationist government led by the British People's Party, with King Edward VIII as head of state and Barry Domvile as prime minister. Germany is provided with military access and political influence over the collaborationist regime.
Political situation
Since Germany had no desire to spread Nazism to Britain, the United Kingdom did not become a fully-integrated Reichskommissariat, nor a Nazi-led government like the French State. Instead, the newly-organised government keeps most of the pre-war system, with the House of Lords being empowered to be on par with the House of Commons and the only legal party being the British People's Party. The British People's Party is made of both dedicated fascists and pragmatic liberals, unified by their support for collaboration with the Reich. This was allowed by the Germans in order to avoid excessive resistance in the British Isles, especially since the German army was stretched thin to control the Russian lands: while an uprising could be easily defeated by the German garrison (and the British Free Corps if needed), it would have required tens of thousands of men, and resources the Reich could not afford. Therefore, it was deemed more prudent to allow the beaten enemy to keep a facade of democracy and independence, as fraudulent and shallow as it had become, as long as the British parliament would not oppose the Germans in any way. While this unwritten agreement has resisted for more than a decade thanks to the "carrot and stick" combination of "free" democratic elections and the German garrison, now the cracks are starting to show.
With the steady decline of the German Reich, its economy weakened by the absence of international trade and the excessive reliance on slaves, and its leadership embroiled in internal strife over the looming matter of Hitler's succession, the threat of German retaliation is fading. This is making increasingly difficult for the government to justify its subservience to German demands, and increasingly easy for the underground resistance to take control of local institutions thanks to weak rule of law.
This is not made easier by the King: Edward VIII, once a fervent admirer of Hitler, is now a shadow of his bright pre-war persona, haunted by remorse for what he had been forced to do to satisfy the Germans. While he keeps telling himself that he did it to avoid bloody and merciless retaliation from Germany, it still isn't enough to keep the regret and self-loathing at bay. As such, he has almost completely retired himself from politics, leaving the government alone in its increasingly difficult task. Hated by his people, who see him as a German puppet, and mistrusted by the Germans, who see him as too moderate and reluctant to comply, he is the proverbial clay pot between the iron pots, at constant risk of being crushed.
As such, English politics are becoming increasingly radicalized as time passes: should the resistance decide the time is right for a full-scaled insurrection, civil war will break the country in two, with the constant threat of the German garrison taking things into its own hands and restoring order the German way. Finally, there is the matter of the "Ottawa pretender": Elizabeth II, Queen-in-exile of the United Kingdom, follows the situation with great attention, with many insinuating that a good portion of the resistance is acting on her behalf. Should her uncle be forcibly removed from power, there is little doubt that the remnants of the British Empire and its American allies will try to retake the British homeland.
Politics
National Spirits
| Own People's Hate |
The Douglas-Home Government has the distinction of being the only government to last more than four years since the end of the war with Germany. Unfortunately, it is not popular with a good many of the people it rules despite this. The exact reasons vary, from perceived illegitimacy to discontent with the state of England and even the simple desire to avenge those killed by the Germans or the Collaborationist Government. This lack of public support limits the government's ability to meaningfully pass legislation as the Royal Party and its factions rest on the knife's edge of becoming outright despised by an otherwise apathetic population. Fixing this will be a challenge to say the least. |
| Her Majesty's Most Loyal Resistance |
Her Majesty's Most Loyal Resistance has been a persistent annoyance for over a decade, absorbing the communist and rogue military units which formed the majority of the resistance to government authority pre-London Uprising. Evidence suggests however that the organisation formed mere moments after our surrender to Germany, and their worrisome ability to stay largely undetected in their machinations limits our own capability to respond. In addition HMMLR is believed to have a significant number of former high military personnel in its ranks in addition to regular terrorists, which raises the question of whether they intend more direct action against us some day. |
| Lying in Ruins |
The German bombing raids were devastating to our economy during the war, and our severance from America and our former colonies has not helped matters, to say nothing of the fact that we no longer hold the British Isles either. There had been signs of recovery before the Germans own economic collapse in the 50's, but at the present time the English economy is even in the most generous of terms, dead in the water. This causes a not insignificant amount of unrest amongst the general public, where unemployment is high and contributes to the volatility of our populace. Should this be fixed however it would be a major relief to our government. |
| Across the Channel |
England is less than 40 kilometres from the German Reich across the English Channel, and despite our best efforts they have maintained the continued necessity of their garrison in Cornwall, keeping a hand ever ready to strike. The treaty signed at the end of the war mandates that we limit not only the size of our military but its composition too, with strictly limited numbers of tanks and aircraft and a similarly restricted navy in a grotesque parody of the Treaty of Versailles. But whilst the Germans have insisted upon keeping the treaty strictly enforced there remains the possibility that if the situation in Germania or England were to change that this could be superseded. |
Cabinet
| Cabinet member | Role | Ideology | Trait(s) and effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward VIII | Head of state | N/A | No Traits |
| Barry Domvile | Head of government |  British Fascism
|
TBD |
| Andrew Fountaine | Deputy head of government |  British Fascism
|
TBD |
| Ronald Nall-Cain | Foreign minister | British Fascism
|
TBD |
| Rab Butler | Economy minister |  Controlled Democracy
|
TBD |
| Rudolf Wulf | Security minister |  National Socialism
|
TBD |
Trivia
- The original setup of Britain had Wales and Scotland as independent, neutral republics, which were recognised by Germany after the fall of the UK, limiting London's control to England. After HMMLR's uprising, the victor will have to reunify Great Britain by dealing with Wales and Scotland. The current lore was created by the developers of a submod called The Fallen Lion (which was integrated into the main mod), who chose to keep the UK whole due to the irrelevance of Welsh and Scottish secessionism during the game's timeframe.
